As Labor Day ushers in the new school year for students and teachers, here are just a few of the classroom resources at PBS LearningMedia that can engage learners about the all-important world of work:

Children’s Lives at the Turn of the Century: (Media Gallery, Grades 1-6)  Images, film, and books shed light on the ways in which children worked, learned, and played around the year 1900.

Interpreting Characters, Setting, Plot and Theme — The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Disaster: (Lesson Plan, grades 6-8) Students watch a video segment chronicling the tragic fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Using a story elements graphic organizer, students determine the various elements of the story and arrange them in the correct order on the organizer.

Intergenerational Prostitution in India:  Half the Sky Classroom Module:  (Video, grades 9-12) This module is set in the slums of Kolkata, India, where 90 percent of girls born to sex workers follow in their mother’s footsteps

There are so many powerful resources that it’s hard to choose just a few.  I hope you’ll go to PBS Learning Media (and register if you haven’t yet) for free access to a staggering number of resources for virtually every content area and grade.